Why You Should Start Composting – And How To Begin
By Lottie Dalziel
Before we explain how to compost in your own home here's a bit of context on exactly why composting is so important.
Why Compost?
We all know that there are some scary stats out there around waste, one, for example, is that organically-active material (i.e throwing your food scraps in with everything else in the bin) in landfills causes 3% of Australia's total greenhouse gas emissions – that's more greenhouse gases than Australian's generate from flying around the country and overseas every year! Like, come on people! Give the worms some food and help the environment too.
You also probably never realised (neither did we until writing this) but around 50% of the waste in your rubbish bin could actually be put to better use in your compost. Starting your no waste journey? Or been trying for a while? Composting is a sure way to slash your waste literally in half.
Compost Benefits
Composting at home has a magnitude of benefits, including;
- Improves soil – giving your plants/veggies the perfect base
- Reducing organic waste in landfill
- Keeps your soil moooiissstt, yep there I said it and I'm not sorry about it
- Helps with pest control, replace your chemical-ridden fertilizers with this stuff
- Saves you lotsa moolah! Don't waste your hard earned dosh on expensive fertilizers
- Helps save the planet by reducing greenhouse gas emissions!
How To Get Started
First things first you'll need to start collecting your compost. Grab a smaller container that you can keep in your kitchen to make it so easy to compost you and the fam would be crazy not to.
Join the Compost Revolution to get a whopping discount (on your local council) on composting products and all the extra info you need to become a compost King!
Now here's where it gets tricky depending on your living situation you can do the following:
- Grab your own compost bin, put in your backyard and get cracking!
- In an apartment? The urban composter is perfect for you!
- Keen to reduce your food waste but not keen on making compost? Download the ShareWaste app. You can drop off your scraps to people in your local area with compost bins who are looking for extra organic waste.
- Feel passionate about composting? Live in NSW? Set up a community compost bin in your local park. You can get all of the info you need here.
Banish's Composting Must Have
Little Pepino's Kitchen Compost Bin - is the ideal way to keep your kitchen looking clean and clutter free. Perfect for small kitchens, this bin is made of a mixture of resin and recycled bamboo fibre. It's the perfect place to start on your compost journey!
Further Reading
- Find out what you can and can't compost here.
- Find the right compost solution for your household here
About the author
Lottie Dalziel is the founder and editor in chief of Banish. She has a passion for the environment and wants to help educate and inspire individuals to make small changes towards a more sustainable future. Stay up to date with her latest challenges on Instagram @banish.au.